


The Vault of Vaduz

by cincoflex



Series: Malum [3]
Category: Jaguar "British Villains" Commercial
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Memory Issues, Smart Kid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-07-26 22:16:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7592356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cincoflex/pseuds/cincoflex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little vacation in Lichtenstein gets complicated when Danny needs help and Samantha forgets herself. Literally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Sebastian_

Danny rarely asks for favors. It’s maddening really; he’s done a lot of them for _me_ over the years and always brushes those things aside, making me feel even guiltier at times. It’s his way; he’s generous to a fault and it might be easy for some people to forget what they owe him but not me.

Danny’s as close as I’ll ever have to a brother.

So when he asked for help, I agreed before he’d even said what he needed, so eager was I to pay him back for so much. It turned out to be a bit more complicated though, which meant I also had to get ‘Mantha’s assistance as well, but that’s what networking is about, particularly in the life of a Villain. One hand washes the other, and it’s usually bloody but not always.

“The Insta-Sleep,” Danny explained. “If it’s working I could use a dose of it for a little job I’ve got here in Lichtenstein. I don’t want something that can be traced, I need something that won’t have any after-effects and it would be nice if my target spend two days under, so I have lead time getting out of there.”

“And what _is_ the job?” I asked, being my usual nosy self.

“Never you mind,” Danny shot back but I could tell he was amused. “Nothing you and yours need to worry your heads about. Let’s just say someone owes me money and hasn’t paid. I’m going to collect and I’d rather do it bloodlessly if I can, yeah?”

“Fair enough,” I agreed. “Let me see if ‘Mantha’s got the formula worked out or not and I’ll get back to you.”

“Brilliant,” Danny sighed, and hung up. I set my mobile back on the nightstand and rolled over to my darling, brushing that curl away from her forehead.

“I have a question for you,” I began, grinning.

“It works and it _is_ strong,” she replied, having overhead the entire conversation, “but it’s tricky. The stuff’s got to be blended and used within twenty minutes to be completely effective, and one of the compounds is a little. er, dangerous. Not _very_ dangerous,” she amended when I gave her an alarmed look. “I’m _always_ careful handling it, and it’s not _poisonous_ so you can stop looking as if you want to wrap me in blankets.”

“Twenty minutes . . . so that means Danny will have to put to together himself—”

“Which he will _not_ be able to do. This isn’t a cocktail, Seb, it’s a specific formula and I’m not going to just hand off the compounds to Mr. Holloway! If he wants it, I’m going to have to make it _for_ him.”

She looked stubborn, which was a good look on her, and one I was glad to see again. We’d been carefully making our way back from being overly-cautious with each other and the last two weeks had been helpful, but slow.

I much preferred my darling when she was feisty.

“So you’re saying we need to go to Lichtenstein _with_ Danny is that it?”

‘Mantha thought I was teasing; the look she gave me was definitely suspicious, but when I held her gaze, she eventually nodded. “That would be about the size of it, yeah. Would we cramp his style?”

“I’ll find out,” I assured her. “In the meantime, we have a helicopter to catch.”

She brightened at that. I’d promised her a trip weeks ago, and ‘Mantha had been looking forward to it like a child to Christmas. It didn’t matter that it was only a quick flight from the Black Guard London office to Brighton, where I had an appointment with the director of the Booth Museum in regard to security matters. A simple trip; we could have driven it, but I knew the flight would be fun.

We needed a little fun. Given everything we’d gone through it seemed just the ticket.

Samantha did wonderfully well on the flight all the way until a few minutes before we touched down. Roman is an excellent pilot but even so between the updrafts and the excitement, Samantha was definitely greenish by the time we landed. She fished a bottle of water from her purse and sipped it, looking much better once we were on the ground.

“Sorry about that. Still, we flew! That was amazing! Being able to see everything around us like that! Will we go back the same way?” she wanted to know.

“I don’t know how long the meeting will take, and I thought I’d take you into town afterwards,” I told her as we made our way down from the roof of the office building. “If we’re not done by mid-afternoon then it would be better to drive, my darling.”

“All right,” she agreed a little wistfully. “Can we stop in a pet shop?”

I slipped an arm around her and hugged her lightly; her betta had lived a good life and she missed him. “If we have time, of course.”

My meeting took a few hours and Samantha explored the museum during that time. This particular security contract was one of the few I was doing as a legitimate business, and I was glad to help preserve and secure such a fine collection of Victoriana. The director was delighted with my reduced fees and offered me lifetime passes to boot. I took them, planning to pass them on to Danny and his daughter as a thank you.

Samantha and I had a lovely afternoon knocking about the antique shops and tea salons in the autumn sunshine, finding several knickknacks that appealed to us. An iron boot scraper in the shape of a hedgehog; wind chimes made of old silverware; a dragon’s head doorknocker she insisted we needed.

We bought them all of course, and after a lovely seafood dinner headed back to London by car, feeling content and happy despite the some rain that got stronger as we reached the city. ‘Mantha actually fell asleep and I had to wake her when we finally reached home with our purchases.

“Ohh,” she yawned. “All right then, when do we go to the Continent?”

“Let me talk to Danny and we’ll see,” I told her. 

*** *** ***

“I don’t want to put you out,” Danny repeated, sounding a little embarrassed, but I waved it off.

“It’s not a problem. Honestly, I think ‘Mantha would like to get away for a bit, and I’ve got a few things I could manage myself, but in all seriousness, it would help if I knew what you were up to. Don’t want in on it per se, just a heads up.”

“Right, well there’s a rotten apple that works for the football club there by the name of Grunst. He’s passed a lot of filthy betting lucre through my club for clean and he’s late on paying fees for it,” Danny sighed. “Since he’s not in the habit of coming to London, I thought I’d go to _him_ and straighten matters out. I’ve got good intel that he collects coins, keeps them at his house. I’m not averse to getting my fees in change if I must.”

I chuckled. “So you’re going to dose him, break into his safe, clean him out and leave him snoring while you skip out?”

“That’s about the size of it,” Danny cheerfully admitted. “Very basic stuff, with no need to smash kneecaps or noses if I can help it.”  
“Sounds fair; when do you need us there?”

“Well, Alison and I plan on getting in by Saturday and back by Tuesday if we can swing it. She’s got a report due on the Art Museum there,” he groused. “Killing two birds with one stone this way.”

“Multi-tasking; everyone’s doing it,” I assured him. “We’ll check in at the Park Hotel Sonnenhof and meet up on Saturday then.”

“All right, and Seb—thanks.”

*** *** *** 

Samantha was pleased and more than willing to make up Insta-Sleep for Danny, secreting the compounds into various lotion bottles to disguise them. She rattled off part of the chemical formulas at me, but it was all another language as far as I was concerned.

“And I’m taking along a few others I want to keep track of as they increase their potency. For example, _this_ one is a blend that will temporarily suppress the memory retrieval part of each hippocampus in the brain. I suppose eventually I’ll call it Insta-Amnesia.”

“Definitely Villainous. And that one?” I pointed to another bottle in her kit. She flashed me a smile.

“Oh that’s a blend to increase romantic ardor.”

“A love potion?”

“That one’s perfume,” ‘Mantha laughed. “That one you like on me: Dark Desire.”

“As I said, a love potion,” I told her blithely. “Pack warm things to wear; it’s autumn in Lichtenstein and the mountains are chilly my love. Oh, and Danny’s bringing his daughter, Alison.”

“Sweet!” ‘Mantha enthused. “So I finally get to meet the famous Alison! What’s she like?”

“ _Very_ opinionated,” I told her, “but generally in a good way. She’s very fond of animals, her father, and books of the dragon and talking animal variety.”

“Ah, a _reader_ ,” ‘Mantha approved. “I like her already.”

“As do we all,” I replied. “Sir Gareth is her godfather and my aunt often takes her on shopping trips to the bookstore, so she’s well-looked after. Not spoiled, but not shy.”

“Sounds like good company. I suppose Gaz can look after Mr. Slowpoke while we’re gone, and I’ll tell J-J they can have the run of the lab for a few days.”

Vaduz from the air is rather pretty, in an Alps sort of way. Very hilly and the trees were in full autumn colors. The chill hit after we landed and I was glad of my scarf and gloves as we climbed into the taxi for the hour’s ride into the country. My darling looked pale but excited, looking out the car windows at the scenery. 

The Park Hotel Sonnenhof is a lovely place set up on one of the hills overlooking Vaduz. Auntie has stayed here a number of times and recommended it as the best. Once we checked in I agreed; the suite was lovely, with double bed inset into one wall cupboard style, complete with window. Samantha thought it charming and went to unpack while I considered how best to use my time while we were here.

Tour of the Art Museum was a must; all of us would take Alison around and probably have lunch of course. Danny and I would meet up with the Villain liaison for a while as well. Villains _do_ network, and while Lichtenstein wasn’t large enough to have a local Villain per se they did have a general crime supervisor who probably had a good idea of what was going on with the football club manager. He or she would be the one to hook us up, most likely at a party of some sort.

If Danny could talk sense into the man, so much the better. If not, we’d go with plan Insta-Sleep and that would be that. ‘Mantha knew her stuff and with luck the humiliation would insure no more trouble from the money-laundering end of all this. I might even work in an opportunity to get a Black Guard contract with the Art Museum, which would be a lovely bonus.

Things were looking up, and I wondered if it was possible to test out the bed before meeting up with Danny and Alison, so I wandered into the bedroom looking for my darling. She wasn’t there—there were items scattered across the bed and a few on the floor. Alarmed, I stepped closer to the bathroom, suddenly aware of the sound of retching behind the door.

“’Mantha, are you all right?” I demanded.

An indeterminate moan came through the door, and then the sounds of flushing and running water. A few moments later my darling opened the door and flashed me an embarrassed look. “Sorry, I just got hit with some nausea and had to dash here . . . why are you looking at me like that?”

“Darling,” I gathered her into my arms, smiling. “It may be time to take a little test.”


	2. Chapter 2

_Samantha_

It’s funny when someone you love turns into a complete idiot. Case in point, Sebastian and his attempts to purchase a pregnancy test. He ran—literally RAN—down to the hotel lobby only to discover that this high-end hotel did not have any sort of drugstore within it. Then he arranged for a taxi to the nearest one, made the driver wait outside _with the meter running,_ and dashed inside to buy the item. Since we hadn’t done any currency conversions he finally ended up using one of his credit cards (I’m surprised he even remembered his _wallet_ to be honest) and bought not one but _three_ different tests.

Next, my darling freaked out on the way back to the hotel because the tests were all in German and was convinced we wouldn’t be able to read the results. I had to patiently point out the pictures were fairly clear about one line being not pregnant and two lines being, well you get the picture.

And _then_ he had the audacity to be upset because I didn’t have to urinate. Seb nearly emptied out the mini-fridge, handing me bottle after bottle, grumbling under his breath. “Honestly!”

“The flight dehydrated me,” I teased, toasting him with my second mineral water. “While we’re waiting for my bladder to fill up, what’s our agenda?”

He told me about the Art Museum and the potential meeting with Danny and the football manager, adding that there were a few sight-seeing tours available as well, and certainly we’d have plenty of places to dine. It sounded like a nice little break from our routine if not an actual min-vacation. “I wish I knew more German,” I fretted.

“Not an easy language. Auntie speaks a bit of it as does Danny, but most of the signage here will be in several languages to help out tourists like us,” Seb told me. “You’ll probably meet enough people who speak either English or Spanish to get along. Oh, and there are winter sports of course—skiing and the like. Do you do any of those?”

I gave him a dry look and he chuckled.

“I grew up where the weather never got cooler than fifty degrees Fahrenheit, my darling. Never saw snow until I was in college and didn’t own a heavy coat until I moved to England. So no, I don’t ski or skate or sled. Not in my repertoire.”

“It’s never too late to learn,” he offered. “I’m all right on skis but terrible on ice, frankly. My bum spent more time on it than my blades ever did.”

The image cracked me up and I giggled. “Your aunt said you did all right with squash and tennis.”

“Summer sports are more forgiving. Besides, I’m competitive by nature, and having a long arm-span helps,” he admitted. “Are you ready yet?”

“Yes, but there are a few ground rules here, Mr. Slay and I will _not_ take this test unless you agree to them,” I told him, getting serious as I did so. 

Seb looked at me patiently and I cleared my throat. “You can’t tell anyone if it’s positive. At least not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because in the early days like these it’s possible to miscarry,” I reminded him. “And while that would be very sad, it would be _worse_ if we had to deal with everyone else having to be told as well.”

I saw him absorb that, flinching a little before he slowly nodded in agreement. “All right, I do understand. What else?”

“If it’s positive, you are _not_ going to encase me in bubble wrap.”

“That rather sounds like fun,” Seb smirked, but caught my glare and sighed. “If that’s your way of saying I can’t be over-protective, then I will do my best, ‘Mantha darling but I can’t guarantee it. Just as you have instincts I do too. We’ll . . . compromise.”

It was the best I was going to get out of him and I knew it; I nodded.

“Anything else?” he was practically quivering with excitement, and I gave one last little sigh.

“If it’s negative, you’ll be patient,” I told him quietly. “Some things take time and can’t be rushed.”

Seb came over and put his arms around me, pressing his lips to my temple. “Yes. Yes to all of it but _this_ especially.”

I held him for a long moment, well-aware that a great deal in our lives could possible change in the next few minutes. Then I picked up the test, stepped into the bathroom and followed the directions.

Taking a pregnancy test is the ultimate in self-consciousness. I made faces at myself in the mirror as I washed my hands afterwards. The little test sat on the counter, the window on it slowly changing. 

“How’s it going?” Seb called through the door.

“What do German lines look like?” I called back, getting a snort in return.

Finally though, I picked it up, covering the window with my hand and opened the bathroom door. Seb stepped back, still looking like a fuzzy-chinned Golden retriever, blue eyes bright. “Yes?”

“I don’t know,” I told him. “I haven’t looked yet. Thought we’d do it together.”

And we did.

I nearly dropped the test, but Seb cupped his hand under mine, steadying it as we looked at the pink parallel lines in the small window.

“Two,” he breathed. “Dos lineas. So. We have made . . . our baby.”

“Ah,” I tried to think but the enormity of the moment had me a little stunned. Then I had no time to breathe because Seb wrapped himself around me tightly, laughing.

“We’ve _done_ it!” he chortled. “Oh my precious, precious darling!”

He cupped my face in his large hands and kissed every part of me from forehead to nose to lips while a spluttered and giggled.

“You-are-so-amazing-and-I-am-SO-happy!” Sebastian told me.

“Need to breathe,” I reminded both of us, but I was grinning as well. “Oh! Well, yes, it looks as if we’re going to be parents!”

“It’s going to be a difficult secret to keep,” Seb admitted. “How far along do you think you are?”

“Weeks at most,” I admitted. “Which is why this is not for public consumption yet, although seeing a doctor would probably be wise. Maybe the hotel has one they can recommend.”

Which is how I met Doctor Meyer. He was a roly-poly man with a tall shock of white hair and a full beard who reminded me of young energetic Santa Claus. His office was near enough that we walked, and he did all the standard tests, his English heavily accented but understandable.

“Frrrrrom what I can tell you are rroughly six weeks along,” he told us. “Congrrratulations! You’ll need prenatal vitamins of course, and lots of vater of course. Rest vhen you feel the need and no smoking or drinking frrrom this point on.”

“Oh damn, I suppose this means I must give up my cigar and whisky club membership,” I teased Sebastian, who rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

Doctor Meyer gave us a shopping list and a few referrals for doctors in London before we left his office, and we walked back hand in hand, too pleased to say much at the moment.

Huge. I knew theoretically we had planned on having children but this truly was the start. I knew I felt a little different but not by much. I also felt happy and scared and excited and confused. I was betting Seb felt the same way, but every time he looked at me he winked, and I couldn’t keep a straight face.

“Subtle, Mr. Slay.”

“I am having my moment of gloat, darling. It’s permitted.”

“That you are virile and I am fertile?”

“Yes. It’s a gratifying feeling to know I’m not the last of the Slays, and that our legacy is enhanced by melding with the Lopez-Campbell lineage.”

That amused me. “We’re not _married_ you remember. Right now it’s a child of the sinister bend.”

“Not the first in my family tree, but marriage is on the table. Has been for ages you know.”

“In due time,” I replied. “Allow me my autonomy a while longer.”

He looked a little bothered by that, but I squeezed his hand. “We are Partners and now parents . . . I’m fairly sure we’ll be married too.”

\---oo00oo—

Alison Holloway was merely polite when her father introduced her to me, but I saw the copy of Wee Free Men tucked under her arm.  
I smiled. “Out of all of the Nac Mac Feegle I like Rob Anybody the most.”

It was like unlocking a door; she brightened up and proceeded to tell me who her favorite was and why, and had I read any other of the books and wasn’t Tiffany Aching the best?

Both Danny and Seb looked startled but I just nodded and threw in a comment every now and then as Alison chattered on, going from Pratchett to Rowling to Patricia Wrede at the speed of light. We all moved out towards the little salon and sat down, Alison next to me.

“All right, all right,” Danny gently broke in. “We need a little chat about tomorrow, eh? You and Samantha can talk books later but right now we’ve got a few plans to make.”

Alison made a face. “You mean the museum, don’t you, dad?”

“Yes I do,” he replied and I sensed a little tension between them. “Part of the reason we’re here, so no looking like that.”

“You have a report to do on the museum?” I asked.

Alison gave a huge sigh. “Yes, worth major points. I have to not only talk about the building itself but what it houses and show it. All because I . . .”

“Tell her,” Danny ordered briskly, although I could see a little grin on his face.

“All because I skived off for two days to go to the cinema,” she sulked. “They were showing the whole Lord of the Rings from beginning to end. It was _worth_ it,” she glared at her father.

“Worth it to _you_ maybe but it’s setting me back a pretty penny in travel and tickets, innit?” Danny returned firmly. “Not to mention the note about your grades.”

“Daaaaad, you promised you wouldn’t bring that up again!” Alison whined, clearly embarrassed. 

“What’s the end product supposed to look like?” Seb interrupted. “What’s the rubric here?”

“Mixed media,” Alison sighed. “I have to do a written report but I also need either a video or photos to supplement it. Also I need to interview a docent or two, and maybe talk to visitors.”

“A regular production,” I observed, surprised. It sounded like a lot for a kid to do, especially by herself and said so.

She held up her cell phone. “I can do it, I just need someone to help me out a little.”

“Someone to keep her on-task,” Danny murmured but lightly, “my job.”

“We should _all_ help. Getting a little culture in wouldn’t hurt, and the sooner the report is done the better, right?”

Seb and Danny looked amused; Alison gave another sigh but I could tell it was mostly for show.

As we rose to head out to lunch, Seb leaned close and whispered to me, “You sound like a mother already, darling.”

I couldn’t help smiling at that.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sebastian_

We had dinner at a little restaurant near the hotel, and it was amusing to navigate our way through the menu; between my skewed German and Alison’s curiosity about every dish it took a while.

I noticed that ‘Mantha was careful to include vegetables and avoided the wine; both moves I said nothing about. I respect her as a grown woman and I was working hard not to hover but it did please me that she was already thinking of our little sprog. Danny went whole hog in terms of cuisine; I don’t think I’ve seen that much red meat on a plate since the last time I watched Shakespeare.

And dessert. If there’s one thing that’s hard to choose it’s dessert on the Continent. There were Swiss, German and Italian offerings, so we all chose something with an agreement to share. That’s how we ended up with chocolate cake, torte and tiramisu all divided up into segments that were solemnly handed ‘round. Much as I would have loved to nibble mine off of ‘Mantha, this was a good second choice.

When we headed back to our hotel, she snuggled against me nicely and I was beginning to feel like the luckiest man on the planet. That was confirmed later when my darling enticed me into showering with her before bed. I had my trepidations about making love to her but ‘Mantha assured me it would be fine and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse by rising up on all fours on the splendid mattress and looking over her shoulder at me coquettishly.

Glorious. The stuff of erotic fantasy brought to life taking her like that, and if my darling hadn’t been pregnant before, she certainly was by the time we—sweaty and completely blissed out—were done. Fait accompli.

\--oo00oo—

It took me a mere two minutes to decide that not only did I NOT like Hans Eber, the director of the Liechtenstein Museum, but also that I _might_ have to assassinate him if he smiled at ‘Mantha one more time. This short and balding man had the audacity to beam at my beloved and direct all of his attention to her from the moment we met. Eventually Danny moved to stand next to me as Alison explained her project, and he dropped his voice to a whisper.

“Easy, mate. There _are_ other men in the world who like them built like your bird. You had to _know_ that, right, Seb?”

“Nothing says I have to _like_ it,” I countered quietly. “Or that I can’t do something _about_ it.”

“I’m telling you that if you terminate this bloke _before_ my Alison’s finished her report I’d look on that with serious displeasure. She _needs_ that credit, Seb.”

I pretended to consider it as Herr Eber laughed at something my darling said. “Afterwards?”

Danny snickered. “Afterwards you can do what you like to the oik. Personally I think a rugby match on his bollocks would do the job but I’m the rough and tumble sort anyway.”

I was about to reply, but when Herr Eber reached to touch ‘Mantha’s sleeve I immediately stepped in and intervened. “Oh I’m so sorry, is that a _Mondrian_ back there?”

The distraction worked—at least on him. ‘Mantha however, gave me a gaze that questioned my sanity and I returned it with a bland smile.

As we took our personal tour, I made it a point to stay at ‘Mantha’s side. Unfortunately, the director was on her other side, and left her rather sandwiched between us. Normally I had no problems with being so close to her but having Herr Eber part of the group had me annoyed. My darling gave me a reassuring but puzzled look and when we turned a corner she whispered, “Are you all right? You’re very tense, Seb.”

“Just being protective,” I told her, hoping she’d understand.  
“Yes well you can unclench a bit; the paintings aren’t going to attack us,” she told me in a dry tone. 

I looked at her carefully, and realized that my lovely darling did not have a clue about Herr Eber. Not. One. Clue.

It struck me as slightly hilarious but I managed to stuff down my amusement and focus on what the director was telling us. Alison was recording everything dutifully, and Danny was doing his best to stay out of the videos, mostly for his own security. It’s hard enough to be a Villain without putting yourself in the public eye, and given Mr. Holloway’s underworld connections, much safer. 

We moved through the various sections and galleries, taking in the Modern Art and Herr Eber’s overly-enthusiastic discussion of the same. Periodically Alison would stop him and film some bit, and then have Danny film HER talking about the piece as well. She was cute doing it and during one of those moments ‘Mantha leaned to whisper to me in Spanish. “If you’re worried about me, I’m fine, really. I’ll nap later but I’m feeling perfectly well.”

“I’m not worried about _you_ my darling,” I assured her in a sotto voice. “Rather, I’m more concerned with Herr Eber’s growing infatuation with you.”

She gave me a startled look, glanced over at Herr Eber, who beamed at her, and then back to me. “What? That’s ridiculous.”

“Trust me, it’s not. He’s infatuated with you, I know the feeling,” I replied a little testily. 

“He’s being hospitable mostly for Alison’s sake,” ‘Mantha tried to explain. 

“He’s being hospitable because he thinks you’re beautiful,” I corrected. “And he’s not wrong, but he needs to shove off or I may have to deal with him myself.”

‘Mantha looked at me dryly. “You’re overreacting to nothing, Seb. I know what I look like.”

“I do too, and Herr Eber can find his _own_ goddess somewhere else.”

She gave an annoyed giggle and then turned back to our tour. Across from everyone else, Danny gave me a commiserating look as we moved on through the Art gallery. By the time we finished, Alison was delighted with the amount of footage she’d gotten and was crowing about it. Danny offer to take us to lunch at the restaurant right there at the gallery so we did that.

When Alison and ‘Mantha trotted off to the ladies’ room, Danny sighed. “Spent some time talking to Grunst and he’s throwing a little party tonight at his house, which is convenient. Claims he can pay me what he owes tomorrow, but I smell a put-off, so I’m hoping to hit his tonight, so I managed an invite for you and Samantha.”

“What about Alison?”

“She’s putting together her report, and when it’s done she’ll get the room service menu and video listings,” Danny sighed. “The concierge is holding them until she sees Alison’s work. My girl will be safe as houses for the night.”

“All right then, I’m sure we’ll be able to go and bring the necessary items,” I agreed. “Too bad Herr Eber won’t be there. What I wouldn’t give to dose _him_ up a bit.”

“He did seem pretty smitten,” Danny noted. “Not that she was giving him any encouragement.”

“She didn’t _notice_ ,” I snapped. “Not until I pointed it out.”

“Really?” Danny was amused. “Wow.”

I would have said more but Alison and ‘Mantha were returning so I didn’t. We had lunch and afterwards I took my darling back to the hotel for a nap. Much as I wanted to join her, I was too restless, so I ended up taking a little walking tour of Vaduz down the Mareestrasse to burn off some of it. The city was pretty and I made it a point to take a few pictures to send to Auntie as I did so.

It helped. I understood that my possessiveness came from the recent fears I’d had about losing Samantha, and I rationalized with myself that no matter what, I would be aware of my tendencies and curb them. My darling loved me and I her; that was immutable. On my way back I bought a small bouquet of autumn flowers and carried it up to our room, presenting them to ‘Mantha as a bit of an apology.

“Thank you, they’re _lovely_ ,” she told me with a little kiss. “And as for the matter of Herr Eber . . .” she pointed to a much larger bouquet of hothouse roses on the coffee table that had arrived while I’d been out.

I stared as ‘Mantha picked it up, went to the window and gracefully dumped the entire thing out, hanging onto the vase. Then she put my bouquet into it, closed the window and turned back to me. “There. I believe that expresses _exactly_ how I feel about him. What an assumptive prick!” She came over to me, eyes bright. “Unbelievable, truly. Did he honestly _miss_ that we were a couple?”

“I think he was so overwhelmed by you he thought he’d take his shot,” I admitted, smiling. “And it missed.”

“Very much so,” my darling agreed. “Now we need to get ready for tonight and that not only means dressing but packing. Fortunately most of what I need fits in my clutch. Would you be a dear and run me a bath?”

I would and did.

*** *** ***

Herr Grunst’s villa was large, ostentatious and overly stuffed with taxidermied bears, most of them rearing. Given that his football team was the Bruins I suppose it fit, although as décor goes it was hideous. ‘Mantha made a face at the one nearest the front door; it was wearing a football jersey and sunglasses.

“It’s going to be a _pleasure_ to dose him,” she whispered to me. “So far I’m not much impressed with the men of Lichtenstein.”

“Well we _did_ like the doctor,” I pointed out to be fair, and ‘Mantha gave a reluctant nod as we entered the main living room. There were lots of people here, and it seemed they either all knew each other or were related. The only faces I recognized were those of Danny and unfortunately, Herr Eber. The latter hadn’t spotted us yet. My fingers flexed, longing to wrap themselves around his neck, but ‘Mantha held me back by slipping her arm through mine.

“No,” she told me quietly. “He’s done nothing more than make a mistake, querido. We’ll set him straight _together_.”

“And if he fails to understand, _then_ may I choke him?” I pleaded in a playful tone.

“Possibly,” she compromised, and we moved through the room greeting people. I made my way to Danny, who introduced Herr Grunst.

Herr Grunst was a short muscled man with a hard grin and merciless eyes. I could see he wasn’t about to pay Danny back and his painful handshake made it clear that he knew it too.

“Good to meet you Mr. Slay! Come, have some champagne!” he offered, looking smug. Danny gave me a look and I nodded; ‘Mantha was ready.

“Thank you. Unique house you have here. Quite a conversation piece I’m sure.” I looked to my darling a few feet away and gave her a little nod; she nodded back and asked the caterer a question.

“Oh yes, and I love it, almost as much as the country. I never leave Litchenstein you know,” Herr Grunst gave his sharky smile again. I watched ‘Mantha disappear down a hallway, probably into a bathroom nearby.

“What a pity; the _best_ football is in Wembley you know,” I shot back breezily. Danny picked up on that, and after a few minutes of sports-related extremely tense conversation, ‘Mantha returned, coming up to us with a slightly preoccupied look on her face. She moved to hug us each, and as she did so, I saw her slip a small vial into Danny’s hand. It was over in a second and I noted his relief as he pocketed it.

“I think . . . I think I’d like a little aire fresco,” she murmured. “Be back in a few minutes, don’t let me interrupt you.”

I looked after her, but Danny put a hand on my shoulder. “So, Seb here was wondering about getting into collecting coins. Got any advice?”

I played along, allowing the two of them to lead me to the study where Grunst was eager to show us his collection. Danny had collected three flutes of champagne and passed one to Grunst, who gulped it down before leading us to a gaudy shadow box full of what looked like German coins. “Numismatics! Finest hobby in the world outside of football! That there is set of pre-world war two Weimar replublic . . . replooblic . . .repubbbbbbbbbb . . .”

Down he went, snoring softly as he crumpled to the carpet.

Danny grinned. “Oh I _owe_ your dolly-bird for this and then some! Come on; safe’s over here.”


End file.
